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Jeff Tyler Named Towsley Scholar

Submitted by Julie Huisingh on Mon, 1998-01-05 11:41

J. Jeffery Tyler of the Hope College religion faculty has been named the college's second "Towsley Research Scholar."

The award was announced during the college's annual Faculty Recognition luncheon, held on Monday, Jan. 5. The Towsley Research Scholars Program is funded through an endowment made possible through a grant from the Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation of Midland. The foundation's previous awards to the college have included grants for the construction of the Van Wylen Library, faculty development in the pre-medical sciences and support for an endowed chair in communication. Through the Towsley Research Scholars Program, newer Hope faculty members receive support for a research project for four years. An additional scholar will be appointed each year, up to a maximum of four at a time. The first scholar, David K. Ryden of the college's political science faculty, was named in January of 1997. Tyler plans to use his award to examine how the practice of banishment and exile defined and shaped German society from the later Middle Ages through the Protestant Reformation. He intends to study who German magistrates drove from their cities and rural communities, and how and why the punishment was enacted. Tyler also hopes that his research will address contemporary concerns as well. "This continues to be a pressing issue in Germany today, in the aftermath of the Holocaust and continued Neonazism and hate crimes," he said. He did some preliminary work on the project during the summer of 1996, while completing another research effort in Germany through a first-year Faculty Summer Grant from the college. The Towsley award will enable him to make additional visits to Germany so that he can examine court records and other relevant historical materials, in addition to supporting generally his effort to write a book based on the research. Tyler is an assistant professor of religion. He joined the Hope faculty in 1995. He graduated from Hope College in 1982 with majors in religion and ancient civilization. He earned a master of divinity from Western Theological Seminary in 1986, and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Arizona in 1995 under the direction of Heiko A. Oberman. During his doctoral work, Tyler received a Fulbright Grant to study in Germany. His scholarly work includes completing a book that examines the expulsion of bishops from their medieval cities--a study of the relationship between city and church in Augsburg and Constance in Germany from 1200 to 1600. He has developed new courses at Hope including an introductory-level examination of Christianity and conflict; an upper-level course titled "Monks, Mystics, and Magic in the Middle Ages"; and a senior seminar titled "Dying, Healing, and Thriving." He has also taught courses examining the origins of Christianity, as well as the history of Christianity from the second century to the present day.